Marshall's Day Off
by Joy3
Summary: Marshall gets a day off from SD-6 and meets his soul mate. Updated to last eppy.
1. Work

A/N: Although I am clearly more addicted to this show than my husband, he is pretty hooked and never ever misses an episode. He would never look up Alias info on the internet himself (after all he is a serious guy with a Ph.D.) but he always wants to know what I found (I am less serious with just a Masters). He came up with the idea for this story and even helped me write it. So HA!! He is addicted despite what he says. Na na na na na. 

Set a few days after Passage part II.

Marshall's Day Off

Marshall was sitting in his office staring at the blank computer screen thinking for the 1,000th time that day, 'I can't believe I lost the signal. This was my special brew. Marshall's magic invisible liquid tracking device. And I lost it. How could I lose it?'

Sloane looked up as McCollough stepped into his office. Sloane knew why he was here. It was Marshall. Ever since he lost the signal on the $100 million in bonds, he had been almost catatonic.

"I've been observing Marshall on my monitor. He has been motionless for over 2 hours at his desk. I think he may be headed for a nervous breakdown if he doesn't take a break. The man needs a mental rest before he loses it completely," McCollough said in a conspiratorial tone.

Sloane grimaced and leaned back in his chair. "What do you propose we do?"

"Send him home. At least for one full day," McCollough replied.

"That will cost us valuable time. Marshall is the best tech guy we've ever had, I don't want to waste a whole day when he can be here working to fix his mistake. We need to know who has that money," Sloane said as his fists clenched in frustration at the memory of losing the signal of his wife's abductor.

"I understand, sir, but if Marshall doesn't take some time away from that computer and this office soon, he will be useless to us for a lot longer than one day."

"Fine," Sloane spat, annoyed at the wasted time and the failed device.

"One more thing," McCollough said as gently as possible. He was scared to upset his superior. "I am saying this so that he can get over this error as soon as possible: Don't make Marshall feel bad about his mistake. A lesser tech could never have even come up with such a device. The fact that it malfunctioned or that they detected and disarmed the tracker is not his fault. He feels bad enough already and we don't want to drive him over the edge. Otherwise he'll be of no use to us."

Sloane grumbled and agreed, signaling with his hand that McCollough was dismissed and should leave. He buzzed his intercom and said, "Get Marshall in my office. Now."

Marshall still hadn't moved. He had hardly blinked. Or even breathed in the last few hours. A voice came over his intercom, "Mr. Flinkman, report to Mr. Sloane's office immediately." Marshall snapped out of his trance and felt a sick feeling in his stomach. 'What now? I can't handle this! He's going to fire me for sure,' he thought.

He stood up and shuffled his way to Sloane's office thinking of ways to appeal to Sloane to save his job. 'Don't run your mouth, Marsh. He hates that. Remember. Just keep quiet,' he coached himself.

When he entered the office, Sloane motioned for him to sit. Marshall sunk into the chair dreading what he was about to hear. 

"Marshall. You've always done good work here. I know the signal was lost on the bonds but...I don't blame you for that. They must have anticipated that we would try to track the money. I would have done the same."

Marshall was stunned. He thought Sloane would blast him, especially since word around the office was that the money was somehow connected to Sloane's wife who was supposed to be dead. "Sir, I uh, I'm so sorry that my magic - I mean - the uh tracking liquid didn't lead us to the bad guys. I let you down and I let our country down and I uh... I understand if this mistake will cost me my job. Which would really be a shame because I love working here and -"

"Marshall. I want you to take the day off tomorrow. Recharge your batteries. Then come back fresh the next day."

"Oh, uh, thank you Mr. Sloane, but uh, that's okay. I'm really fine. I'll be here bright and early tomorrow."

"No Marshall, take the day off."

"Thanks. That's really generous of you and I appreciate the offer but-"

"No. Don't come in," Sloane told him firmly.

"But-"

"No."

"What about-?" Marshall pleaded forgetting his own advice to stay quiet.

"No."

"Wait, can't I just-?"

"No," Sloane said losing patience.

"But sir -"

"No." Sloane held up a finger and pointed to the door. "GO."

"Okay sir, I understand Mr. Slo-"

"Go NOW Marshall."

Marshall nodded and quietly backed out.


	2. Home

Marshall headed home trying to think of what he would do with all his free time the next day. This was the first day he had taken off in 6 years except one time when he he got sick from accidentally inhaling the exhaust from the luge prototype he created for Sydney. And then there was the time he knocked himself unconscious for 24 hours while experimenting with a tranquilizer in powder form that he stirred into his coffee when he mistook it for sweet and low. Man, that hangover really bit the big one. Ever since then he always put in his special artificial caffeine in his coffee for the Marshall Special Blend. So, what to do with this free day? Too bad he hadn't gotten the time off two weeks ago when the Star Trek convention was in LA. Then he would've known how to spend the day. But now he wasn't sure.

He thought about projects he could finish in his house. Marshall had hundreds of devices he had invented to make housework easier and some just lay unfinished waiting for the final tweak to get them up and running. He thought about his laundry system. After much thought and planning, Marshall had built a basketball net in the corner of his room for laundry. When he got undressed every night he took his dirty clothing and tossed it into the basketball hoop. Each piece of clothing was then scanned to determine if it belonged with whites or colors in the laundry. It was sent down the appropriate chute into the basket until the built in sensor detected that the basket was full. Then the laundry was sent automatically into the washer with the appropriate amount of detergent, fabric softener and color safe bleach. Now the dryer was really amazing. Marshall had solved the age old problem of lost socks by putting a liquid tracer (that actually worked!) into the elastic of every sock which kept track of where it was and matched it to its pair automatically after the clothes were dry. But maybe he could spend part of the day tomorrow building the pulley system that would carry the dry clothes back to his room. And the folding machine that would get the wrinkles out and fold and hang the clothing in his closet. He had the plans all drawn out on his desk at home but he just hadn't had the time to actually built it yet. Well, hello free time. Bye bye folding laundry!

He pulled his car into the driveway and pressed his index finger on the fingerprint scanner that he installed beside his front door. After losing his keys for the millionth time last year he made the scanner and got rid of the traditional lock and key. When the scanner beeped in recognition of his prints, he opened the door and was greeted by a seductive voice that was just the tiniest bit electronic sounding.

"Hello Marshall. Welcome home. Can I get you a drink?" He had built this computer back when he was in school earning his doctorate. He had programmed it to have a sexy woman's voice and to be activated by his fingerprint scanner when he entered his house.

"Hi Mona. Hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream, please." He had named the computer after his favorite DaVinci painting in deference to his role model, the first true Renaissance man. He liked to think of himself as a jack of all trades, too. He was suave and cool, right? He could work hard and play hard and the ladies loved him. Well, at least Mona did.

He walked to the automatic drink dispenser and watched as the last swirls of whipped cream were added to the top of his steaming drink. Mmmmm. Tasted great. No one makes hot chocolate like my Mona, he thought happily. He was starting to feel less upset about being forced into a day off as he sipped the creamy drink.

"Marshall, don't forget to call your mother," Mona the computer reminded him. He had dozens of messages programmed in to help him remember to do things and he always wondered how other people could manage their lives without a Mona to help them along. He wished he could bring her to work, but the hardware was about as large as a refrigerator and he couldn't fit it into his small office space. Besides, he didn't think the world was ready for Mona yet. Some people might even think it was weird that he had such a close relationship with a machine that he built. They just didn't understand.

"Dial mom," Marshall called out. The phone started dialing and soon he heard his mother's sweet voice.

"Hello?" 

"Hi mom, it's me."

"Hello darling! How's everything at the bank? Your dad says the market went up so you must be so busy there. You know we are so proud of you Marshy."

Marshall felt bad that he couldn't tell his parents that he really worked for a covert branch of the CIA. He knew they would be even prouder than they were now, but he would never ever tell them the truth. Especially not after he saw what Sloane did to Sydney's fiancé last year. And then there were those rumors about Sloane's wife. Better to let his family think he was a computer tech at Credit Dauphine.

"Everything's fine, mom. Is dad there? I wanted to ask his advice about a pulley I was gonna build."

"Your dad's out in the shed tinkering around with the lawn mower. He wants to make it run on solar power instead of gas. You know how the Flinkman men love to fiddle around with their gadgets."

"You're right, mom," Marshall agreed.

"I'll tell him to call you later, okay Marshy?"

****

Marshall worked late into the night on his laundry transporter and his dad helped him fine tune the design for the pulley. He fell asleep at half past 2 in the morning thinking that he didn't have to get up early the next morning for work.

Unfortunately he forgot to reset Mona to cancel the alarm. At 6:45 AM sharp Mona began speaking to him in one of her 365 randomly chosen wake up messages that he had programmed in.

"Good morning, Marshall. You look great today. Those pajamas are very sexy. Have you been working out?"

Marshall looked down at his body clad in adult footsie pajamas and replied, "Why thank you Mona, I did start taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator. I'm glad you noticed," he joked.

The bed began to tilt vertically to help him slide out more easily. He unzipped his footsies and rubbed his eyes as he walked to the bathroom to relieve himself. He flushed and got undressed. Then he stepped into the showermatic he had built. It spanned the length of the long bathroom he had specially designed for this device. He boarded the treadmill floor of the shower and was transported through a series of shower heads that blasted him with perfectly warmed water in six positions measured specifically for his body. First it wet him, then shampooed and massaged his scalp, then the rinse and obligatory repeat, and finally the soap and scrub. He stepped out of the showermatic and was blown dry by the blow heater aimed at his body. Thirty short seconds later he was completely dry and wrapped in a big white fluffy hooded bathrobe with long pink bunny ears on top. When he entered his closet, Mona told him the weather report. "It's chilly out there today with a high of 52 and a low of 37. Wind chill factor will make it feel closer to 32 and there is a 40% chance of rain. Choose a heavy sweater, long johns and warm pants."

Marshall knew what was coming next. The driving report which would calculate exactly what time he needed to leave the house to arrive at the office at 8AM sharp. He loved being there exactly on time, not a moment too soon and certainly not late. Mona took into account the weather, traffic report and traffic lights to determine the amount of time it took to drive from home to his parking spot and then added 2 extra minutes so he could get from the car to his office. He had actually switched it to 3 extra minutes since he started taking the stairs. "23 minutes until departure from home to get there on time. Have a nice day," Mona said.

"Actually I'm going to spend the day here with you Mo." Marshall took his time shaving and getting dressed. He remembered his horrible experience with the shavematic he invented a few months earlier. That had been a painful mistake. Ouch.

Marshall headed downstairs to the kitchen and opened up his pantry door. About 50 different sugar cereals were lined up in the closet. He chose Fruity Pebbles and took a he disposable bowl and plastic spoon from the dispenser. He poured in some milk and sat down at the table with 6 different national and international daily newspapers. 'This is the life,' Marshall thought as he scooped a spoonful into his mouth and read the comics, ignoring the actual news.

Four bowls of cereal later, Marshall grabbed his sunglasses and keys and headed for the door. "Bye, Mona. I'm going out to have some fun." 

He drove straight to his favorite store, The Sharper Image. As he got closer to the doors he noticed that it looked empty inside. And dark. He checked his watch. 8:22. Damn, the sign on the door said it didn't open until 10. What to do for an hour and a half? He could go back home and read some comic books. He was so proud of his collection that he had started in grade school. He was up to about 21,000 comic books now and counting. Or he could work on his new pop up book that he was making from the hundreds of pizza boxes he had stored in his recycling bin. Or he could - 

"Hi. Is the store open yet?" The most adorable woman Marshall had ever seen was talking to him. She had shoulder length light blonde hair and black glasses. She looked at him waiting for an answer.

"Uh, no. No, it's not open for another hour and a half," he said pointing to the sign on the door.

The woman slapped her hand on her forehead and said, "I can't believe it! It's my first day off in 2 years and I've blown it already."

"Hey, me too. I mean, it's my day off, too. And I did the same thing. Came here too early because my al-"

"Alarm went off at the regular time?" she finished for him. 

"Yeah," he smiled widely. "You, too?"

She nodded sheepishly at him and held out her hand. "I'm Mimi. Workaholic and hopelessly geeky tech lover."

Marshall took her hand and shook it as he introduced himself. "I'm Marshall. Geek lover.. I mean...tech lover and uh, dying for some coffee. Care to uh, join me, Mimi?"

She smiled and followed his lead toward the Starbuck's.

'Well, this might be a great day off after all,' Marshall thought to himself. 'If she's really lucky maybe I'll share my special coffee blend with her.'

*************

A/N Marshall deserves some lovin' too, right? Please review, I love feedback. Thanks.


	3. Pancakes

A/N Poor Marshy!! The original 2 chapters of this story were written before his abduction but the rest of this story will try to work that storyline in (next chapter.) Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Keep reviewing, please!

Marshall and Mimi were sitting in the coffee shop chatting and sipping their drinks. Marshall felt so nervous sitting so closely to such a pretty girl. He couldn't believe he had asked her to have coffee with him. Go, Marshall! And she said yes! Unbelievable!! He was feeling very proud of himself. He was having a wonderful conversation with Mimi about where they went to school (they both had doctorates and knew some of each others old classmates and professors. Small world if you're a brilliant tech wizard.) They were both originally from small towns and came from close knit families who encouraged their love of electronics and computers and experimenting with both, even when the results were sometimes messy, expensive and even dangerous. The only sad moment for Marshall was when he had to lie to his new friend Mimi about where he worked.

"I, uh, I work for a bank. I run their global I.T. services," he said with a sad heart. He wanted to be honest with her but he knew the fatal consequences of that. 

"That sounds really glamorous to me! Do you get to travel a lot?" she asked admiringly.

"I guess so, but I prefer to stay right here in the good old U.S. of A. How about you? I don't mean about traveling, I mean what do you do, Mimi?" he asked trying to steer the subject away from his own job.

"I, uh, I work at the State Department," she replied with her eyes looking down at the table.

"Whoa. So you're helping to keep this great country up and running," he said happily, wanting to scream to her 'Me, too!!!! Me, too!!!!' But he didn't. He couldn't. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, but what she does, might.

"At least its computers. Up and running, I mean." She smiled shyly at him. She was happy the store hadn't been open when she got there. Marshall was the nicest guy she had met in a long time. And so funny!!! And kinda cute, too in his own way, she thought. 

The flavored coffee had piqued Marshall's appetite and he leaned in toward Mimi and asked her gently if she would mind if they left. At first Mimi was disappointed that he wanted to end their time together. Didn't he feel any chemistry with her? Didn't he want to stay and talk a little longer? She sure did! But then Marshall explained.

"The artificial maple flavor in my coffee gave me a hankering for some hot fluffy pancakes and I know they don't serve them here. Would you be interested in taking this conversation over to that IHOP across the street?" He pointed to the restaurant through the window beside them and raised his eyebrows questioningly at her.

"Sure," she agreed, pleased that he did want to continue their --- date? Was this a date? 

She glanced at her watch for a moment and couldn't believe what time it was. They had been sitting there for over 2 hours together! The Sharper Image was certainly open by now, she could see it right through that same window he was pointing at. The pretense for their coffee had been to wait for the store to open. So was it a date now?

Who cares? "I think we both deserve a special day-off-work breakfast, right?" she added.

They stood up together and Marshall fumbled for his wallet so he could pay and leave a tip. The waitress had been awfully nice to let them linger over 2 measly coffees for so long! 

*****

Four plates of pancakes, syrup and whipped cream later, Marshall looked admiringly over at Mimi. The girl could eat!!! She had matched him bite for bite in the pancake department and was now licking the last of the whipped cream from her fork. Where had she put it all? She was tiny! Marshall was wondering if the two of them could split an entire pizza pie by themselves. But he was getting ahead of himself. He had to get her phone number first and see if she was interested in going on an actual date with him. Not just a coincidental coffee while they waited for a store to open. The store! Their time together today didn't have to end. After all, they had both intended to go the Sharper Image anyway, why not go there together?

"Do you, um, do you still want to go to The Sharper Image?" he asked tentatively. "Because, you know, we could go there together. Or if you just want to go I could wait here and go another time so we wouldn't have to be there TOGETHER together. You know what I mean? I mean I'd like to go with you but you don't have to just because-"

"I would very much like to go there together. Together." She smiled at him encouragingly, proud of herself for being so forward.

The two of them were like little children walking through the store wide eyed, totally in their element with all the gadgets and toys. Marshall was showing off for her as he put his hand on the static electricity ball and rubbed his feet on the carpet and made all his hair stand up straight. Mimi laughed at him and Marshall was sure it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. He would have to record that sound and program it into Mona so he could hear it all the time. He was smiling like a fool, so happy that he had made her laugh. 

They strolled through the entire store talking about ways to improve some of the gadgets they saw and they were each very impressed with each other's ingenuity and expertise. Marshall found her intellect very very attractive. Not to mention her laugh and her smile and her shy eyes behind those glasses.

They both didn't want the day to end but Marshall was afraid to push it by asking her to do something else together. He had to think of a suave way to get her phone number. He had to see her again. He didn't know what to say-

"Hey, Marshall? I had such a great time with you today," she began.

"Me, too. It's the best day off I've had in years. Well, it's the first day off I've had in-"

"Do you want to catch a movie with me? They're playing the new Star Trek movie at 3 o'clock down on Broad Street. I was going to go alone...but I'd much rather go with you," she said hopefully looking him in the eye.

Marshall was feeling lightheaded. Was this was a swoon felt like? He was pretty sure he was swooning over her. "You bet your Next Generation I want to! Set the course to Broad Street at Warp Factor 3 ," he said as he gestured with his arm. Mimi locked her arm in his and they began the three block walk together to the theater.


	4. Reunion

A/N This chapter is going to incorporate the abduction from the last episode but I have no idea what will actually happen on the show. There are no spoilers here, just my own ideas about how it could work out.

They were walking toward their cars, passing by the store where their day together had begun. Marshall knew what he had to do: his mission was to get her phone number. By now he knew they had chemistry and enjoyed each other's company, but was today just a fluke? A way to pass the time on a day off for each of them? He knew for sure that he wanted to see her again. He had to see her again. He felt alive and energized at the thought of seeing her regularly. Slow down, Marsh. Get her digits first, then plan your future, he scolded himself.

As fate would have it they were parked right next to each other! Destiny, she thought. She hurriedly opened her purse as they got closer to their cars and fished out a pen and scrap of paper. When she turned to face him he was feeling in his chest pocket for a pen as well. Great minds think alike, she smiled to herself.

"Mimi," he started without looking up. "Would you think it too forward if I asked you for your, you know, your phone number?"

Mimi caught his eye and grinned as she pressed the scrap with her number already written on it into his palm. The intensity of their hands touching almost sent Marshall into cardiac arrest. He had almost put his arm around her at the movie theater but he wanted her to know he was a gentleman and so he resisted. And it hadn't been easy. But now, for the fleeting moment that their hands touched he had felt enough electricity to put that static ball at the store to shame. "Thanks," he said looking at the scrap of paper. "This day will go down as one of my top ten. And I don't mind telling you that it's pretty close to number one!" She laughed. Oh, that laugh is going to be the sound I hear as I fall asleep tonight, he thought.

"I had a beautiful time with you Marshall. Thanks for everything. I'm glad we both forgot to reset our alarms this morning!...I look forward to hearing from you." She opened her car door and slipped into the driver's seat. Marshall made sure she was safely inside and then shut the door for her. They waved to each other as she put her car in reverse. Marshall floated back to his own car in a dreamy haze. Mimi. Marshall and Mimi. Mimi and Marshall...

************

The next afternoon Sloane felt smug in the knowledge he had done the right thing in giving Marshall the day off. Marshall was attacking his work like a maniac. Building, solving, inventing, creating - with the failed device he had so worried over two days earlier all but forgotten now. Sloane knew he needed Marshall back in full force especially now that he was going to be sent on a field op himself. Sydney and Sark had acquired Echelon but the disk had been wiped clean due to the fail-safe device Cuvee had installed. Marshall was going to London with Sydney to acquire the code to reboot it for SD-6. He knew about Marshall's irrational fear of flying and frankly he didn't care. But he'd be damned if Marshall was going to mess up this mission because of his little phobia.

************

In London, Marshall was on fire. He was cracking codes and looking dapper in his tux. Sure, he had been scared to fly, but he had a job to do and he wasn't going to let his country down. It was great to be able to tell Mimi that he was flying to London and not lying about the "global" part of his job as he had described it to her. But he wished he could be totally honest with her. Talking with her at night was the highlight of each day. He couldn't wait to tell her about the symphony and the - well, he couldn't tell her much else than that since it involved spying and sabotage. But he couldn't wait to get off the airplane and talk to her anyway. And he would sure as hell leave out the part about Sydney kissing him. 'Hey, does Syd have a crush on me?' he wondered. 'Poor girl, if only she'd made her move before I met Mimi she might have had a chance. But I'm a one woman kinda guy. And Mimi's the one.'

************

Two weeks later, Mimi was sitting at her desk just staring at the computer screen in front of her. Why hadn't Marshall called? She hadn't heard from him for twelve days. Twelve long worrisome days. Did he just get tired of her? Why wouldn't he return any of her calls? Did something happen to him? Where was he? 

She was so distracted by thoughts of him, she couldn't concentrate on her work. Deep down she knew something was wrong. She had spent her lunch break yesterday trying to track him down via his credit card. But it hadn't been used for twelve days. She tried to find out if he had taken any flights - but he was only listed on one flight manifest from twelve days ago on a return trip from London to L.A. She knew he had gone to London. She had spoken to him that night before he boarded his flight home. And then she hadn't heard from him again. Not one word. She used every trick in the book to track him down. After all, she worked for the CIA and they certainly knew how to locate missing persons. She had felt bad lying to Marshall about her job, but she had to maintain her cover. It was required of all agents and techs with a high level of security clearance. She had no choice. 

Day after day she had gone over in her head anything that she might have said that may have upset him or hurt him. Was he angry with her? No, she knew they had a deep connection. Even after such a short time she felt very strongly about Marshall Flinkman. And she knew he felt the same way. So why hadn't he called?

Mimi's phone rang and interrupted her thoughts. "Mimi here," she said as she lifted the phone.

"Mimi, this is Agent Vaughn. I have a new recruit for your tech team. He's one of the best in his field and I know you'll make him feel welcome."

"When is he coming?" she asked, groaning inwardly at the thought of training a new employee.

"Actually, he's with me right now and we'll be down in a few minutes if you're not too busy," he said hoping she'd agree. He noticed she'd been sad and preoccupied lately but he didn't know why. He relied on her and the rest of her team so much over the last year to help create gadgets for Sydney and he had grown to genuinely like her. She was amazingly talented and quick and efficient and he was sure her inventions had helped save Sydney's life on more than one occasion. 

"That's fine," she replied.

"I told him about some of the great stuff you made for me and he was really impressed. You guys will be great together, I can tell." Vaughn made a mental note to get her some chocolates to thank her for all the hard work she had done for him lately. 

"See you soon," she said and hung up. Well, at least I'll have a distraction for a while, she thought. I hope this guy isn't too clueless. She began gathering orientation information for the new recruit and a few moments later she heard Vaughn's voice in the hall behind her. She put the papers together in a folder and turned around to meet the new guy.

Vaughn gestured toward the man beside him and said, "Mimi, I'd like you to meet-"

"MARSHALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouted in delight as she ran closer and threw her arms around him and he hugged her warmly in return. Their embrace attracted the attention of all the other workers in the tech department but neither of them cared a bit.

"Oh, Mimi!!! I'm so glad to see you again. I missed you so much. I wanted to call you but..." he said in a rush as he held her.

"What happened to you Marshall? I was worried sick..." she breathlessly said at the same time.

They looked at each other, as Vaughn looked curiously at both of them and asked, "So how do you two know each other?"

"Long story," they replied in unison and looked from Vaughn to each other.

"What are you doing here?" Marshall asked her confusedly. "I thought you worked for the State Department."

"I thought you worked for a bank," she replied and smiled at him.

Vaughn backed up into the doorway and said, "Well, it looks like you two have a lot to talk about. I'll leave you guys alone." 

Marshall and Mimi just held each others hands and smiled.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N You just gotta love Marshall. He got his woman! Please review, we love feedback!!! My husband is totally getting into this - yay - I've corrupted him!!!


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